Training For Impact (Spring 2023 Cohort)

Build the campaign and organizing skills necessary to run powerful climate justice campaigns in a dynamic, generative learning space with organizers, advocates, and activist leaders from across Texas and the Southwest US!

 
2022 Spring TFI Cohort
 
Why join the Training For Impact Spring 2023 Cohort?

The Spring 2023 Training For Impact (TFI) cohort is a 3 month (late February - May) intensive peer learning and training experience for organizers and leaders looking to build their skills, relationships, and campaign knowledge to take action on climate.

The TFI curriculum focuses on equipping participants with insights, skills, and tools to:
  • Deepen your own political analysis, including around how racial capitalism and other systems of oppression drive the climate crisis and intersectional crises;
  • Develop a holistic power analysis and strategy, based on your organizational theory of change and the critical capacities necessary for building powerful multi-racial, cross-class movements;
  • Design and run campaigns that win transformative climate solutions for their communities, through campaign development, narrative and communications strategy, and a “blended,” relational approach to organizing;
  • Build and sustain healthy, joyful activist teams that focus on relationships, create pathways for leadership development, and help build a people-powered climate movement;
  • Support a culture of continuous learning within their organization, so you’re able to understand what’s working well (and not working well) in service of your vision and campaign goals; and
  • Grow your overall personal and professional capacity to take on new roles and responsibilities within your organization and the broader climate movement. By joining the Training For Impact Cohort, you will have the opportunity to network and build deep intentional relationships within the Climate Justice Movement.
Who is the Training For Impact Spring 2023 Cohort for?
The Spring 2023 Training For Impact is a program designed for organizers, advocates, and activist leaders who:
  • Live in Texas or the Southwest region (including NM, AZ, CO, UT, NV) of the US;
  • Are currently leading or actively involved in a climate justice campaign in their community;
  • Have 1 - 3 year(s) experience doing grassroots organizing and/or climate campaign work;
  • Share the Lab team’s commitment to justice-centered and intersectional organizing practices; and
  • Are eager to contribute to a dynamic, joyful space where we reflect, learn, laugh, and dream together!

The Lab is working to support a powerful multi-racial, cross-class movement and we seek a cohort that reflects this vision. BIPOC organizers, youth organizers, and folks organizing in rural and low-income communities are strongly encouraged to apply!

 
"The campaign planning and development modules were concrete and so helpful. I’ve come back over and over to those resources, especially the different case studies. This was the training I have been waiting for! …I was on coalition call recently and we were talking about power mapping. Sharing examples [that I learned in the Cohort] of how other coalitions have developed a community power analysis challenged us to think differently about our coalition's 'strategic culture.'"—Nicole Wong (Campaign Manager, Greenling Institute & TFI cohort participant)
"The Training for Impact modules have been so relevant to the topics I am currently working on. I have been bringing learnings around to power building and base building to many of the coalition spaces I am a part of. I also took a lot from the relational organizing modules and was quickly able to implement the different strategies for sharing your “story of self” and 1:1 meetings, as I just started a new job. I am using those frameworks a lot and have noticed a positive difference in our organizing program!"—Akira Yano (Community Organizer, Minnesota Environmental Justice Table & TFI cohort participant)
"Honestly, one of the things that has been most useful has been the curriculum and developing a more in depth fluency with the Lab's resources. It's a lot of information, but I now feel prepared to find what I need when I need it when doing organizing work! So far, the Engagement Systems Parts 1 and 2 as well as the Critical Capacities frameworks have been most useful on my end."— Spring 2022 Training for Impact cohort member
 
What's the Commitment?

The Spring 2023 TFI cohort will run from late February 2023 through May 2023. Participants will meet twice a week (Tuesday and Thursday) for 90-minute sessions every other week for a total of 15 sessions. The first session of the week will be mostly content and listening, and the second session of the week will be how we apply the knowledge and skills from the prior session to our work. We want participants to come prepared to not only build new skills and be trained, but also to use your own organizing and campaign experience and work on your own campaigns as we learn together. Drawing from our own organizing and campaign experience, we will build new skills and train together in addition to working on our own campaigns.

We plan to kick-off the TFI Cohort with an in-person 2-day meeting in Houston, TX, to build relationships and strengthen regional connections among participants.

On occasion we will ask participants to come prepared to a session with pre-work or homework from the previous session. This could add about an hour to the weekly commitment to the cohort.

Dates:
  • Zoom Meet + Greet and In-person Kickoff Prep: Week of 2/23/23 (specific date tbd)
  • Week 1: In person kickoff: 3/3/23 - 3/5/23
    • Session 1A + 1B: Being in right relationship, Leadership Development + Culture of Learning
    • Session 1C + 1D: Political Education
  • Week 2: Power Analysis: 
    • Session 2A: Understanding dimensions of Power, Pillars of Support, and Power Mapping (3/7/23)
    • Session 2B: Power Mapping spectrum and analysis, Spectrum of Support (3/9/23)
  • Week 3: Strategy
    • Session 3A: How to diagnose a problem and create a solution, steps to building a Theory of Change (3/21/23)
    • Session 3B: Workshopping Theory of Change, Strategic planning, and finding the gaps (3/23/23)
  • Week 4: Critical Capacities
    • Session 4A: Understanding the Critical Capacities to Organizing (4/4/23)
    • Session 4B: Applying Critical Capacities in your community (4/6/23)
  • Week 5: Organizing Part 1
    • Session 5A: Organizing Structures and frameworks, engagement strategies and organizing models (4/18/23)
    • Session 5B: Identifying and workshopping your organization's engagement strategies (4/20/23)
  • Week 6: Organizing Part 2
    • Session 6A: Recruitment and Retention, Leadership development for volunteers, Escalation and absorption (5/2/23)
    • Session 6B: Creating a Ladder of engagement and nested tactics (5/4/23)
  • Week 7: Application
    • Session 7A: (5/16/23)
    • Session 7B: (5/18/23)
  • Week 8
    • Session 8: CLOSING 5/23/23
Application Deadline: Wednesday, February 1, 2023 by 11:59 PM PST (APPLICATION IS CLOSED)
 
 
 
Who is leading the Spring 2023 Training For Impact Cohort?

Assata Harris

Assata Harris is a movement builder, community organizer, trainer, facilitator, and Licensed Clinical Social Worker Candidate living in San Francisco, Bay Area. A proud alum of the University of California, Davis, and Sciences Po, Paris. She is currently attaining her Master's Degree in Clinical Social Work from the University of Southern, California. Since 2009, she has been an organizer, facilitator, and trainer for over 8 years. She has led and directed climate justice programs that advocate and mobilize frontline communities around equitable solutions to the climate crisis and trained over 3,000 activists on justice and equity issues, organizational change, and strategic design. She specializes in training curriculum, facilitation, organizing, justice, and equity training.

Gabby Heidrich

Gabby Heidrich is a climate justice organizer and movement builder dedicated to training, resourcing, and coaching youth climate organizers to scale up local movement networks. She attended Iowa State University and helped to run a campaign pushing the university to close its on-campus coal plant and transition to 100% renewable electricity by 2030. Through her work as a youth climate organizer, she was inspired to continue working with young people and new organizers to build up the climate movement and broader justice movement. She is dedicated to building organizer trainings, writing campaign-specific resources, and cultivating 1:1 coaching relationships with grassroots organizers and their local groups on the ground leading the fight against fossil fuels.
 
 
 
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is there a cost associated with participating in the Cohort?
No, we are able to offer this program free-of-cost with generous support from the Lab’s funder collaborative.
Are any stipends provided for participants?
We are able to offer $200 - $500 stipends to support participation with priority given to individuals coming from climate justice, frontline, BIPOC-led/serving organizations and organizations unable to compensate them for their time in the program. We thank you in advance for helping us make this an inclusive program by refraining from requesting stipend support if you are well resourced or do not fall into a priority group! In addition, participants will have the opportunity to receive research stipends and technical assistance to investigate questions they have regarding communication strategies at the intersection of climate and health.
What will the first in-person session be like?
We strongly believe that convening an in-person gathering at the start of this cohort will help to build and strengthen relationships and investment in the Training for Impact programming. Travel stipends will be available for those requesting. We will also be able to offer hybrid participation options for those who are unable to travel.
What happens if I need to miss a session?
If you need to miss a session, participants are required to give advanced notice as early as possible. We understand many people have prior obligations, but generally expect participants to join the live sessions.
Do I have to be a member of the Climate Advocacy Lab to apply?
You do not need to be a member of the Climate Advocacy Lab in order to apply for the cohort, but we do require all Cohort participants to become Lab members so they are able to easily access our resources and tools. We encourage all applicants to get that process started by filling out this new member form.
Do you have accessibility alternatives for completion of the application for those who need it?
We are more than happy to provide additional support for those who would like to use an alternative process for submitting an application, like interviews or video/audio submissions. Please contact us with your request at one of the emails listed below.
I have a question about the program or application. Who can I contact for clarity?
Please feel free to contact us through email with any questions. You can contact either of the Training For Impact Leads, Gabby Heidrich, gabrielle@climateadvocacylab.org, or Assata Harris, assata@climateadvocacylab.org.
Who has joined previous cohorts?
We welcome applicants from climate and climate justice groups of all sizes! Past participants have come from local and state-based organizations like Alaska Community Action on Toxics, Central Florida Jobs with Justice, and Florida rising as well as national groups, like Sierra Club, Powershift Network, and Sunrise Movement.